From the Valleys Newsroom...

A470 Clean Up

The Council has started its latest two-week operation to clean the verges and hard shoulders along the A470 between Taff’s Well and Abercynon.

While the South Wales Trunk Road Agent (SWTRA) is responsible for the maintenance of the A470, the Council retains responsibility for cleaning its surrounding areas along the stretch.

This process is undertaken three times a year, costing the Authority £30,000 over the 12 month period.

The latest clean-up started on Monday, January 22, and is taking place during the evenings, from 7pm, for two weeks. The verges will be cleared of litter and the hard shoulders swept by two teams, who will collect around 500 litter bags during the operation – ranging from car parts to fly tipping and other rubbish.

Each individual clean-up costs the Council around £9,000 – which includes the costs of waste disposal, vehicles and staff wages. This figure would be significantly reduced if people did not drop litter when using the A470 and its lay-bys – where litter and recycling bins are provided.

The works are usually carried out alongside separate works on the A470, in order to minimise disruption to motorists and to reduce the cost of closing sections of road. The Streetcare team’s current operation is being carried out alongside pre-scheduled works requiring lane closures.

“The Council’s Streetcare team carries out three extensive clean-ups each year on the A470 between Taff’s Well and Abercynon, for the benefit of local communities and the environment.

“Whilst it is important that this commuter route – upon which so many people rely – is kept clean, these operations cost the Council around £30,000 each year. The waste which is collected has come from moving vehicles or from people using the various lay-bys – and therefore the clean-up cost would be significantly lower if people chose not to drop litter.

“Our teams will be working in the evenings over the next fortnight to carry out this significant operation to clean Rhondda Cynon Taf’s stretch of the A470.”

Who Are We?

GTFM serves Pontypridd and RCT County Borough in South Wales, centred where the Rhondda and Taff Valleys meet. It’s an area famous for it’s coal mining heritage, plus Male Voice Choirs and Rugby alongside Tom Jones and The Stereophonics!

GTFM echoes it’s area’s ‘larger-than-life’ personality and directly encourages listeners to get involved in the community, especially through volunteering.

It’s ‘Music of your Life plus local news’ approach has made it the market leading radio station in its primary area, which in turn helps GTFM ‘make a difference’ in the communities it serves.

Founded in 1999, GTFM started full-time broadcasts in 2002 as part of a Radio Authority ‘Access Radio’ trial on a not-for-profit basis, later becoming a registered charity and the first Ofcom Community Radio licensee Wales in 2006.